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Boss Babes Meal Prep

Hi *boss babes*!

First of all, I want to say I cannot thank all of you enough for the kinds words of encouragement with my 6 week transformation and lifestyle change these past 8 weeks. As I said on my Instagram post, it was a lot for me to put my self out there and be completely vulnerable but I am so glad to see a lot of you joining Faster Fitness, and making lifestyle changes! Like I always tell you guys- I write to make a difference and to help my babes, so that whole process reminded me of WHY I do this.

I also have some super fun new partnerships that I am looking forward to telling you guys all about! I am so excited to share this fun partnered post about meal prepping with my best friend, Mrs. Savanna Ray!

 

Savanna and Maddie here boss babes! We are stoked to be talking about the 101's of MEAL PREPPING today!

Savanna is now going to take the floor and talk about how to set yourself up for SUCCESS!

 

Savanna Ray

Alright, queens! I’m going to give it to you straight. Chances are, you have a pretty decent idea of what you should be eating. Better chances are, you are NOT eating it. Having the KNOWLEDGE of how to eat to get your ideal body is the first step. Gaining the SKILL required to actually apply that knowledge is step number two. Lucky for you, mastering step 1 and step 2 are the only things standing in your way. Meal prep is, without a doubt, the most essential skill you can develop to reach your body goals. If you want to build curves and develop a more feminine build, you have to eat to support that goal. If you want to get lean and have washboard abs and a tight bum, you have to eat for those goals. If you want to be strong and crush PRs in the gym, you guessed it, you have to eat for it. Food is the fuel that our bodies run on. Your body is a reflection of the fuel you’re providing it with. In order to make sure your body has the fuel it needs to reach your goals, YOU HAVE TO PREPARE YOUR MEALS. Jo Schmo at McDonald’s does not care if there’s enough chicken on your salad to reach your protein goal. Becky with the good hair at 801 does not care how drenched your salmon is with butter and fat. Meal prepping is bulletproof. Adopt this habit, reach your goals, be the best you, wear that crown ;)

Why it’s so important:

1. Convenience: “The Grind”, commonly defined as attempting to balance a social life, work life, personal life, work out regime, and mindfulness practice. For the majority of us, there is absolutely no feasible way to cook 3 or even 1 meal per day. Thus, we resort to the convenience of someone else preparing our meals for us (i.e McDonald’s, QT, foodie restaurants, brunch spots, etc). The issue with this method is the fact that we really have no idea what these meals contain. Restaurants and food chains have 1 primary goal, taste. In order to make their meals taste amazing, they add tons of fats and sugars. Fats and sugars cause fat storage and the opposite of “body goals”. Instead of spending hours of your week waiting in a drive through or on a waitress to take your order, spend a few hours 1 day per week preparing your meals. You can have every meal prepared in advance by spending just a couple hours in the kitchen. You can pop your meal in the microwave and be ready to eat in just under 2 minutes. OH, THE TIME YOU WILL SAVE! Skip the drive, skip the lines, skip the wait.

2. Metabolism: Most people that don’t prepare their meals eat only 1 to 2 times per day. They are usually starving so they tend to eat 1 to 2 huge meals per day. Their body is also starving. So, what happens? Your body knows it probably won’t get fed again for 12+ hours because this pattern isn’t a new one. So, all the fat and carbs you just consumed at that single sitting get stored as fat. You then likely eat much more over the weekend and your body never gets to actually burn that fat. Instead, you keep the last bits of it in our favorite storage site, the midsection. Eat 3 to 4 balanced meals per day and let your body know it’s okay to shed that extra fat. You’ll be feeding it soon enough, so holding onto extra fat isn’t necessary.

3. Cravings: When you wait too long to eat, your body will crave sugar and thus, carbohydrates (carbs are sugar). Carbs are the bodies quickest fuel source. Your body doesn’t have to work very hard to break them down and use them as energy. By having your meals already prepared and ready to go, you’ll be able to eat at your scheduled times. When you eat regularly, your blood sugar stays balanced and you don’t get intense sugar cravings. Less CRAVINGS mean less CAVINGS. Don’t cave, stick to your nutrition goals. That means no afternoon trips to the vending machine.

4. Cost: When I meal prep, most of my meals cost under $5 per meal. You can’t even get a meal at McDonald’s that cheap these days. Spend less on eating out, your future self will thank you for it.

What you need:

  • Scale

  • Skillets/Pans

  • Tupperware is your new best friend

  • Food obvi ;)

How to conquer the beast:

  1. Plan ahead. Pick a day of the week that works best for you (most prefer Sundays) and SCHEDULE IT. If you schedule it, you’re more likely to follow through.

  2. Be sure to have everything you need in advance. Pick up a scale and any Tupperware, pans, etc you may need. Also, be sure to write out your grocery list so you don’t forget anything.

  3. Keep it simple. Don’t try to make elaborate recipes straight out of the gate. Keep things easy so the task doesn’t become daunting.

  4. Pick foods you like. Don’t meal prep 15 meals of salmon if you aren’t a big fan of it. I love spaghetti. So, I meal prep ground turkey with marinara sauce and spaghetti squash almost every week J

Example grocery list:

  • Chicken/Ground Turkey/Ground Sirloin

  • In general, meat cooks down about 25%. Aim for 4 oz’s cooked. If you’re doing eggs as your protein source in the morning, you should have 2 solid protein sources that day along with one protein bar or shake. 2 solid protein meals per day is 14 meals per week. 14 meals x 5oz (to account for the loss when you cook it) = 70oz or approximately 4.5 lbs of meat is what you need to buy for the week. I love ground turkey and chicken breast because it’s lean and extremely affordable.

  • Eggs

  • Spinach Salad

  • Veggies

  • Seasonings and low fat/low sugar salad dressings

  • Berries

  • Oatmeal (optional)

  • Meal replacements like Orgain vegan protein powder or Quest bars.

  • Nuts (I love seasoned almonds)

 

Thanks for all of that VALUABLE information Vanna! I can't even tell you how much meal prepping has set me up for success in my lifestyle change. The thing that people really fail to recognize is that starting a new lifestyle is a serious MENTAL challenge.That is why people fail so much. If you are not meal prepping and fitting the gym into your daily routine.. I'm sorry to say, but you will not reach your goals. That is the one thing I have been telling my friends and followers that is the blunt truth. Savanna, and my guys at Faster Fitness have always told me you have to be accountable for yourself. If you want to be your absolute you will put the fast food and sugary shit DOWN! Trust me you will feel like a brand new person when you do.

As some of you know I have recently changed jobs, and am now a wedding event manager/planner, and marketing coordinator. My life has gone from 0-100 real quick haha! My schedule is never the same, and I have struggled in finding a real routine but I have finally gotten there! Monday's are reserved for meal prepping because I typically have the day off from working weekends. Tuesday's are always my day off from the gym, otherwise I am finding time in all the peepholes of my schedule. It has helped me SO much in finding ways to achieve what my personal fitness goals are for that bikini bod I want in a few months!

I figured since I am a newbie at all of this I would tell you all some of my tips on how to curb those cravings. MIO IS MY BEST FRIEND. Seriously those little flavors for your water.. best thing ever to help make me avoid reaching for my favorite gummy bears at the grocery store. My favorite flavors are the fruit punch and the tropical punch, so yummy! I also really love Quest bars heated in the microwave! My favorite flavors are the oatmeal cookie, and cookie dough ones! SO tasty. Also, I can't say this enough. If you have bad food in your house.. you're PROBABLY setting yourself up for failure. If it's there to tempt you/might go bad.. you will probably make an excuse to eat it. Sugar is your enemy. Remember that!! Another tip, meal prepping does NOT have to be chicken and broccoli every time! Look up some recipes on https://ultimatepaleoguide.com/recipes/ and choose some yummy options! Here are a few of my favorite ones (some are to be eaten in moderation):

Bacon- Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breast: http://blog.paleohacks.com/stuffed-chicken-breast/

 

Hope y'all look into making some fun recipes like this to spice up your healthy food options! My favorite proteins include lots of salmon and steak! There isn't a time since I started all of this that I haven't included both of them in my preps! I would say that another BIG tip is to switch up your veggies, healthy carbs, and greens so you don't get bored! I have been doing that weekly and that has allowed me to enjoy eating just as much as I used to (except now I'm leaner ;) ) !

The one I guess real 'con' about meal prepping is that you just have to make time to do it! I swear I got messed up last Monday because I had something and it threw me off until Wednesday and I just felt so out of wack for two days because I was cooking for every meal, and it's just way more time consuming that way.

However, the best PRO of all of this is that I feel SO good and healthy when I am hitting my nutrition goals! My work outs are fueled so much better, and I have become so much more aware of what eating the wrong foods makes me feel like. Even on my cheat days that I HAVE to have to stay on track, sometimes I just can't wait to eat my next healthy meal because of all of the sodium, sugar, gluten that is found in all of our cheat meals.. let's be real lol- ALL of that stuff is what makes you fatigued and bloated! Gross!

We hope you loved this topic as much as we loved putting it together for you guys! Remember this step will really set you up for efficient work outs, help your immune system, and make you feel super comfortable in your own skin!

Good luck! <3

Xoxo-The Blonde Team- Vanna and Maddie

 

If you have any questions for Savanna, please email her at savannaray@fasterfitness.com.

To learn more about Faster Fitness, go to https://fasterfitness.com.

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